My new Uemis SDA

[mintaka]

My Uemis Zurich SDA computer arrived yesterday and while I have not yet had a dive with it , I thought I would post my impressions so far as well as a few pics. The pics depict the home screen, and go down the menu path to set the gas.

First, the packaging is really high quality, the computer, transmitter, usb cable,connector and pouches for the computer and transmitter , are all in one generous box along with some plastic quick reference cards. The manual is online and is very, very descriptive. The OLED screen is easy to read, bright ,quite pretty and high tech appearing. The three buttons combined with the context-dependent menu make navigation through the system easy and incredibly intuitive, especially compared to the quirky, unintuitive menus of my Suunto computers. Making the initial settings was a piece of cake. After customizing the initial settings, the step by step directions in the manual take you through the process of registering, updating the firmware and synchronizing the device to Uemis's wesite using a Java applet that pop ups when you connect the computer's usb to a PC or MAC. I tried both a PC and a MAC and was able to preform all the steps, although the MAC requires slightly more effort... but it was still easy to do. You register as a user and have your own myUemis account where the synchronizing step downloads the computers divelogs.

I installed the transmitter on my regulator and hooked up to a tank of air just to see how the AI worked. It was quite easy and intuitive to link or unlink with a pressurized transmitter.

Perhaps this review is a bit premature without a dive, but I just wanted to give a preliminary report. If I can find a buddy, I plan on diving with it in a local reservoir on Saturday, but failing that I will at least make a pool dive. So, more on that later.
I would be happy to answer any questions or take any particular pics if anyone would like. One function that the SDA doesnt seem to have is a simulation or plan function, so you cant really see the dive screen.. at least I havent figured out how. However the ability to get OS updates via usb allows the possibility of additional functionality in the future. I'm pretty impressed so far, but the "truth of the pudding is in the diving"

Pics are here:
http://www.kdbprofessional.com/uemis.html/index.html


DanB

 

[mintaka]

There is now a picture of the dive screen from a chamber dive that comes in computers logbook-- Thanks Ernie !

 

[TSandM]

I'm assuming that 0 07 is the current dive time? This is one of my gripes about most computers -- This one at least has the depth in big numbers in the middle of the screen, but still puts the elapsed time into smaller numbers, off center, and puts the no deco time in big numbers in the middle.

One of the things I love about my X1 is that I get my depth and time where it takes minimal attention to read them, and the deco information is off to the side and smaller, so I have to LOOK at it. That happens to be how I prefer the data to be organized.

Still, this is a very attractive display, and I'm very much looking forward to your report of diving with it.

 

[mintaka]

I'm assuming that 0 07 is the current dive time? This is one of my gripes about most computers -- This one at least has the depth in big numbers in the middle of the screen, but still puts the elapsed time into smaller numbers, off center, and puts the no deco time in big numbers in the middle.

One of the things I love about my X1 is that I get my depth and time where it takes minimal attention to read them, and the deco information is off to the side and smaller, so I have to LOOK at it. That happens to be how I prefer the data to be organized.

Still, this is a very attractive display, and I'm very much looking forward to your report of diving with it.

Yes, the 0 07 is the dive time-- I agree, it could be bigger. I'm really looking forward to diving with it as well. I wish I could find a buddy for a local reservoir dive, but I'm afraid my first dive will have to be in the LDS's dive pool... then Curacao in 10 days!

 

[Gombessa]

Thanks for posting the review and pics! Just curious, do you have any shots of the device without flash?

 

[mintaka]

Thanks for posting the review and pics! Just curious, do you have any shots of the device without flash?

You're welcome! All the pics except the first one (showing the case) were taken without a flash. I think most were about 1/30s exposure. I wanted to simulate as best I could what the display looks like in the dark. The brightness of the display is adjustable and was set at 60% for the pics.

 

[mintaka]

Yesterday I made the first dive with the Uemis SDA. It was a 40minute dive in a shallow local res. The max depth was only 22 ft and the average depth 14ft, so I really didnt get to see the NDL time in action as it remained at its upper limit of 99min.
The conditions were somewhat murky with a max vis of 5 ft. The computer functioned perfectly and I was able to see all of the quantities, although the dive time and tank pressure are just big enough for me to read. I have to wear reading glasses to read a book or magazine, but do not use any optical correction when diving. So, the good news is I could see everything and this wont change for darker or night conditions since the display is an OLED. There are several "extra info" dive pages available when in dive mode-- The most useful to me are the first and second pages which display the tank pressure in very large numbers and also the SAC rate (some kind of average I suppose, but I'm not sure over how long). The extra pages have colored gauges which are pretty cool looking but also display the info so it can be quickly read. The SAC is purposely displayed in liters/min, however I was informed that cft/min will be a future option. Also, there is a minor bug in the log book that lists tank volume in liters, this also will be fixed soon.
I downloaded the dive to the web-based log software. The web page seems to be only in metric although it may be that I haven't yet figured out how to change the units on the log page.

Overall I really like the computer and so far it meets my expectations just fine. The support has been great with many back and forth emails despite the short overlap of waking/working hours between the MDT and Swiss time. I'll give another report when I return from Curacao.

 

[NWDCGUY]

Mintaka -

DROOL. How is the battery life? How about the Solar Cell? Is solar charging an effective option or is it more a gimmick?

 

[mintaka]

Last weekend I took it to the Keys and had about 4 hours of bottom time without a recharge. The battery level showed all bars on except one (I think there are 5). Anytime its in the sun, it indicates that it is charging by solar, but I havent really tested how long it takes. My hunch is that it is NOT just a gimmick, since the computer could have been substantially smaller w/o the solar cells.
I wish it were a little cheaper, because I would like to buy my wife one . I absolutely love it so far ! I think that as soon as they get US reps, you'll see more of these. I had many people ask me about it when they saw it, especially on the boat after a night dive.

Mintaka -

DROOL. How is the battery life? How about the Solar Cell? Is solar charging an effective option or is it more a gimmick?

 

[Funky556]

I'm 99% sure I'm gonna pick one up before my dive trip in Dec. Fits what I'm looking for.